Sep, 2016 IMPACTS OF URBAN AGRICULTURE ON LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY A Comparative Study of Two Cases of Urban Agriculture in the Netherlands and China Tianyu YANG WAGENINGEN UR Wageningen MSc Thesis Impacts of Urban Agriculture on Local Sustainability A Comparative Study of Two Cases of Urban Agriculture in the Netherlands and China Name: YANG, TIANYU Reg.No.: 891023980080 Supervisor: Prof. Arnold van der Valk Sep, 2016 Land use planning group, Wageningen University Wageningen i ii Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .................................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ....................................................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgement ....................................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................... viii Key Words ...................................................................................................................................................... viii 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background: Urban Agriculture Worldwide ........................................................................ 2 1.2 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Urban agriculture in the Netherlands ........................................................................ 3 1.2.2 Urban agriculture in China ............................................................................................. 4 1.2.3 The blank of academic literature ................................................................................. 5 1.3 Research Objectives and Research Questions ................................................................... 6 1.4 The Construction of the Thesis ................................................................................................ 6 2. Literature Review ....................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 The Importance of Community ............................................................................................... 9 2.1.1 Community in urban agriculture ................................................................................. 9 2.1.2 Social cohesion and social capital............................................................................. 10 2.1.3 The definition of urban farm and community garden ...................................... 11 2.2 Sustainability ................................................................................................................................ 12 2.2.1 Local sustainability .......................................................................................................... 12 2.2.2 Two ways of assessing sustainability ....................................................................... 14 2.2.3 The application of two ways on assessing local sustainability ....................... 14 2.3 Local Food Systems.................................................................................................................... 16 2.3.1 The conventional food system ................................................................................... 16 2.3.2 The alternative food system ........................................................................................ 17 2.3.3 The existence of conventional food system and alternative food system 19 2.4 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................................. 19 2.4.1 Local food system in local sustainability matrix .................................................. 19 2.4.2 The indicators and the standard................................................................................ 22 2.4.3 The conceptual framework .......................................................................................... 23 3. Research Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 25 3.1 An Explorative Study.................................................................................................................. 26 3.2 Case Study ..................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3 Research Process ......................................................................................................................... 29 3.4 Research Techniques ................................................................................................................. 30 3.5 Research Validity ......................................................................................................................... 31 4. Case study in The Netherlands ........................................................................................................... 33 4.1 The Local Context ....................................................................................................................... 34 4.2 Substantive Sustainability ........................................................................................................ 35 4.2.1 Environmental health ..................................................................................................... 35 4.2.2 Economic vitality .............................................................................................................. 41 iii 4.2.3 Social equity ...................................................................................................................... 44 4.3 Procedural Sustainability—Stakeholder Analysis ........................................................... 46 4.3.1 The identification of related stakeholders ............................................................. 46 4.3.2 The interconnections between stakeholders ........................................................ 48 5. Case Study in China ................................................................................................................................ 50 5.1 The Local Context ....................................................................................................................... 51 5.2 Substantive Sustainability ........................................................................................................ 52 5.2.1 Environmental sustainability ....................................................................................... 52 5.2.2 Economic vitality .............................................................................................................. 55 5.2.3 Social equity ...................................................................................................................... 57 5.3 Procedural Sustainability—Stakeholder Analysis ........................................................... 59 5.3.1 The related stakeholders .............................................................................................. 59 5.3.2 The interconnection between stakeholders .......................................................... 61 6. The Comparisons of Two Case Study .............................................................................................. 62 6.1 What are the impacts of the Dutch urban farm on local sustainability? ............... 63 6.1.1 A complicated circle of metabolism ......................................................................... 63 6.1.2 The diversity of development ..................................................................................... 64 6.1.3 An open opportunity for forming a community ................................................. 65 6.2 What are the impacts of the Chinese community garden on local sustainability? ........................................................................................................................................................... 66 6.2.1 The simple circle of metabolism ................................................................................ 66 6.2.2 The simple form of a particular community .......................................................... 67 6.2.3 The simple cooperation model .................................................................................. 68 6.3 What are the similarities and differences of the two cases with respect to local sustainability? ............................................................................................................................... 69 6.3.1 The similarities .................................................................................................................. 70 6.3.2 The differences ................................................................................................................. 71 6.4 What lessons can be learnt from the two